Chinese giant BYD is already making a major impact on UK car buyers with its rapidly expanding range of electric cars. Now it’s aiming to win more sales on a fresh battleground – the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) market.
The brand’s executive vice president, Stella Li, has revealed plans to supplement the existing BYD Seal U DM-i – the sole BYD hybrid model currently sold in the UK – and the Seal 06 DM-i that will be arriving soon with a succession of new PHEV cars for Europe.
BYD Seal 06 plug-in hybrid saloon and estate look set for UK launch
Li explained: “We’re going to continue to bring more PHEVs here, the DM-i, and then different models. So by then, the EV range will easily be 80 kilometres to 120 kilometres [50 miles to 75 miles]. And in the future, if you need it, it can be 200 kilometres [124 miles].
“We’re going to cover from small to medium size and to the bigger size and also from SUV to sedan and station wagon.”
PHEV and tax
The electric range of plug-in hybrids is particularly significant in the UK because of the impact it has on Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax.
A few PHEVs, including the MG HS PHEV as well as the Volkswagen Passat and Golf eHybrids, currently have official WLTP EV ranges of over 70 miles, putting them in the five per cent BiK tax bracket. A PHEV with an EV range of over 130 miles, however, would be taxed at the same 2 per cent rate as a pure electric car under today’s system.
